


Homecoming

by CyanRhapsody



Series: Two-toned Echoes [3]
Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: F/M, Patch 5.0: Shadowbringers Spoilers, Spoilers, THAT CITY, lvl 80 msq
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-10
Updated: 2019-07-10
Packaged: 2020-06-25 21:00:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 981
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19753720
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CyanRhapsody/pseuds/CyanRhapsody
Summary: Somehow, even though she has never been here before, the Warrior of Light knows the city of glittering lights like the back of her hand.PATCH 5.0 SHADOWBRINGERS SPOILERS!!LEVEL 80 MSQ SPOILERS!!





	Homecoming

**Author's Note:**

> I am still tearing up at Shadowbringers even after a week, and I need more Emet-Selch content, so I'm posting this. It was a quick write and I had to post it before I lost my nerve.
> 
> PATCH 5.0 SHADOWBRINGERS SPOILERS AHEAD, DO NOT READ IF YOU HAVE NOT FINISHED!!
> 
> LVL 80 MSQ SPOILERS!!!!

The city of Amaurot.

The place Emet-Selch had come from. Where the first and original people had lived. Somewhere none of the scions had ever believed existed.

Not she. The city that she now looked at was somehow familiar and foreign both. Spires that went as far as the eye could see, glittering lights – it at once soothed her soul and made it ache with fierce loneliness.

Finding the entrance to the beautiful city was laughably easy. Finding her way through the city was easier still. She knew exactly where she was going, as if she had walked through the streets for a thousand lifetimes...

The scions have spread out, eager to experience and explore the bones of a city long dead. She had been tasked to gain entry to the Capitol, but she finds her steps leading away from it. Her feet leads her to a stop in front of an apartment building, hesitation pulling her to a standstill. The doorway suddenly seems ten times more imposing than she remembers it being. If she walks in there, there is no going back. 

She must have remained there for longer than she thought because one of the citizens approach her. "Hello, little one," it chimes in a language she doesn't need the Echo to understand. "Are you lost? I can't help but notice you've been standing out here for awhile."

Mentally shaking herself, she smiles at the friendly giant. The people of Amaurot were so kind, even when the world was one day away from ending. Had she been like this too? "I am fine, thank you."

Rather than going on his merry way, the citizen kneels down. "Is something troubling you, little one?"

".... I fear I may have cause a great sadness to someone I love." A touch of melancholy touches her smile. She isn't sure why she tells him this when he will likely disappear in a few minutes. "And it is too late to make amends."

The Amaurotian chuckles, a deep rumbling chime like a gong. "It is never too late to apologise. Better to have tried than not at all."

The words are exactly what she needs to hear. Resolve set, she thanks them.

"It is no trouble, little one, " the giant says, already getting up. "Good luck!" The shade created by Emet-Selch's aether walks away. She watches it fade into nothingness, then glanced back at the building towering above her. 

Gaining access to the apartment was easy. Since her residency had been approved by Emet-Selch himself, the receptionist had no qualms directing the warrior to his (their?) apartment. Now that she is standing outside the apartment door though, she is unsure how to get in. Would the Ascian have allowed her into this space as well, broken as she is? Taking a deep breath, she reached a hand out to touch the door. Only one way to find out.

The door whooshed open. "Welcome back, ----- "

Her body moved on its own accord, stepping past the threshold. The door shut behind her with a quiet whir.

The apartment was exactly how she remembered it. A couch and a coffee table in the living room, stacked high with books and their few failed projects. So many times had Emet-Selch and her, curled up together on the couch with their masks off, enjoying each other's company. A day bed next to the floor to ceiling windows, where Emet-Selch would lounge about and read on his off days. A counter separating the living space from the kitchen, mugs still on the bar top. She would often cook for him, and sometimes he would cook for her, a way to show affection. Drinking coffee (for him) and tea before heading to their respective duties -

"I don't recall my invitation extending to this apartment."

Emet-Selch's voice comes from behind her. It is flat and lacking his usual mocking sharpness. Instead, something close to fury bleeds into his voice.

The warrior spins around, nearly tripping over carpet. She caught herself on the counter's paneling - in this form, everything in the apartment towered over her - and finally saw the man she had come to Tempest in search of.

For the first time, she hears Emet-Selch get truly angry. Not that she could blame him, she would have too. "Is that what the scions ask heroes to do now? Invading other people's privacy -"

"Hades -"

His mouth stops moving mid sentence to gawk at her. In a blink of an eye, he has moved in front of her, hand reaching out to touch her face. "Say my name again," he demands. His hand stops a hair's breadth away. Afraid. "Is it really you?"

The fear in his eyes, the trepidation and hope, it is too much for her. She gazes up at the man with watery eyes and smiles, placing her hand over his to bring it to its destination. "Hades, it's me."

Emet-Selch -- Hades -- is stunned for a second. It quickly passes and she is swept into a kiss, his palms cradling her cheeks as he pours a thousand lifetimes of feelings into her. She answers with equal furor, hands twining around his neck and hair, pressing herself closer.

"If this is a dream, don't let me wake up," he begs when they pull apart, forehead resting against hers. "Tell me you remember."

Her smile is blinding. Even when meeting him in the Crystarium for the first time in this life time, her soul had always known. "I remember you. I have always remembered you." 

He pulls her close, burying his face in her hair, breathing deeply. His arms tighten enough to hurt, but she doesn't mind. "When I invited you to my city, I had hoped -" He interrupts himself, unable to find words for once in his very long life.

"... You've worked hard, Hades," she whispers into his neck, hugging him tightly. 

"I'm home."

**Author's Note:**

> In my mind Emet-Selch is just so relieved that he breaks character. After all its been more than a millenium of hoping and praying and trying his damndest to make WoL remember ;w; my heart
> 
> I hope this can be a salve on our hearts


End file.
